Jolly Good Fellow 


Neil wasn't sure the last time he felt as spent as he did this particular 
night.  He had arrived back at his cabin only a few minutes before, hungry 
and tired beyond measure.  Briefly he stopped in the kitchen and considered 
eating something to quiet the gnawing in his stomach.  His exhaustion quickly 
won out over the hunger, however, and he made his way to his bedroom 
upstairs, collapsing on the feather mattress, not even bothering to pull down 
the bedclothes.  All he could hope for now was that no one would need his 
medical services for the rest of the night.  He wanted this for himself as 
much as for any patient.  What good would he be to anyone in his present 
condition?  He was weary to the bones, and nothing mattered now except to 
close his eyes and let sleep consume his fatigued mind and body. 

But instead of drifting off, Neil's mind continued to race.  The muscles in 
the back of his neck were tight, due to the stress of working almost 
continuously for the past day and a half.  Three mountain men in Big Lick 
Spring had engaged in a land dispute which resulted in a knife fight.  At 
least there had been no guns involved this time, he told himself, which meant 
he hadn't had to probe for bullets.  Images of his blood-covered hands as 
they stitched countless wounds flooded his brain.  Why couldn't the mountain 
men see how pointless the feuding was?  All that it had ever led to was death 
and more feuding.  No one had ever gained anything from it except revenge. 
And when he considered that Sarah McCrae might still be alive had he not been 
so far away when her parents first discovered her fever, hot anger began to 
rise in him.  If only he could have been there for her...  

When Ozias Holt found Neil on the way back from Big Lick Spring and told him 
about the McCrae child, the girl had already been sick for a day.  By the 
time Neil got to her, the little girl's fever had spiked.  It had been only a 
few minutes after his arrival that the tiny girl drew her last breath in his 
arms.  How could he ever forget her mother's soft cry as she realized her 
daughter was gone from them?  Neil slowly laid the child back down on the bed 
and gently picked up one of her hands.  She hadn't even seen her first 
birthday yet.  If only he had been at his cabin when the call came that the 
McCrae child was sick, she might be sitting up now, giggling and playing.  If 
the foolishness of three grown men hadn't taken him away, a little girl might 
still be alive. 

Neil, you don't know that, he told himself, trying to calm his anger.  She 
might have died even if you had been there sooner.  There was simply no way 
to know.

He had done his best to comfort Robert and Betsy McCrae.  He couldn't even 
remember now what he had said to them, only that his words had felt grossly 
inadequate.  After all, what could be said that would take away any portion 
of their pain?  He had left the cabin feeling as ineffective as a physician 
as his words had been to the grieving couple.  All that he was left with was 
the memory of the small white fingers curled up into the palm of his own 
large hand.  

"I'm sorry, Sarah," he uttered softly, feeling the smoothness of the coverlet 
against his face.  "I'm so sorry."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
                
The next morning as he peered into the mirror and stroked the razor blade 
deftly across his cheek, Neil thought about what a sorry sight he was.  
Thankfully the bright sunlight had poured in through his bedroom window and 
awakened him early enough to get cleaned up and dressed before going to the 
schoolhouse.  He had almost forgotten that he promised Christy he would 
present a lesson today on good health habits.  Funny, he thought, that I'll 
be telling the children to get plenty of sleep and eat regular meals.  It was 
seldom that he did either of these things.

As he pulled on his riding boots and reached for his saddlebags, Neil's eye 
caught sight of the calendar on his desk.  He had been away for two days now, 
and tore off the pages for both Wednesday and Thursday.  Today was Friday, 
the fifth of September, 1913.  Sunday would be his birthday.  This was the 
first he had even thought of it.  Usually his birthdays passed with little or 
no recognition. 

It didn't matter, he told himself, closing the door to the cabin and heading 
out to the barn to saddle Charlie.  September 7th was simply another day out 
of 365, and it just happened to be the one, thirty-five years before, that 
his mother had given birth to him. 

A smile crossed his mouth when he thought of how his mother had always made 
his birthday special, even with the small amount of money his family had.  
She would bake him his own little cake, and somehow there would always be a 
gift waiting for him to open at breakfast, too.  When he was very young it 
might have been a wooden toy his father had carved or a new pair of socks 
knitted by his mother; as he grew older, he had received writing booklets and 
new pencils, and sometimes a new book.  But always there had been something.

Once he had saddled Charlie, Neil climbed atop the horse and began the ride 
to the schoolhouse, his thoughts returning to the previous two days.  "I 
should have been there," he said aloud, thinking again of the McCraes.  
Charlie whinnied in response, and Neil patted the horse's flanks.   
 
The number of times he had arrived too late to help a patient was more than 
he cared to count.  Sometimes he felt as though he was taking two steps 
forward and three steps back in his efforts to help the mountain people.  
Forever there seemed to be an emergency of some sort, and how often the need 
was brought on by carelessness, ignorance, or sheer stupidity, as was the 
case with the feuding.  Seldomly did he have the opportunity to help educate 
the highlanders in hopes of preventing illness.  Even when he was able to 
teach, as he would be doing today, old habits died hard in the mountains.  He 
couldn't help wondering if his patients would be any worse off without him.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
 
As he neared the schoolhouse, Neil wished that he was in a better mood.  He 
knew how much the children looked forward to his visits and the change in 
their daily routine.  Each time he visited, whether it was to share an 
exciting story of one of their ancestors, or present a biology or chemistry 
lesson, Neil revelled in seeing so many pairs of eyes twinkling with 
curiosity.  The children were always eager to hear what he had to say or see 
what he had brought with him.  

And normally Neil looked forward to being with the children, as well.  They 
gave him a fresh perspective on life with their youthful inquisitiveness.  
After presenting a lesson, he always left the school feeling proud to have 
stirred up a thirst for knowledge in so many young minds.  The fact that he 
was able to spend time in the presence of a certain teacher didn't hurt, 
either. No, the children weren't the only ones eager to go to school.

But that was not the case today.  Today was one of the rare times he doubted 
his decision to return to Cutter Gap instead of accepting one of the 
positions offered to him when he finished his medical training.  What would 
life have been like had he chosen to go to one of the big city hospitals to 
practice?  Very different from his existence here, he knew.  For one thing, 
he would have been able to get a good night's sleep now and then in the city. 
 Being the only physician available to the people of Cutter Gap and the 
surrounding regions meant that he seldomly felt well-rested.  Even now, he 
felt his eyelids grow heavy in the warmth of the early morning sunlight.

And then, he was instantly jarred fully awake.  "Charlie!" he shouted at his 
horse, unable to see the reason he was rearing up on his hind legs.  Neil 
hung onto the horse with every ounce of strength in him, and when Charlie 
went down again, he saw.  A rattlesnake lay coiled directly in front of the 
horse, its rattle sounding out a warning, poised to strike.

"Easy boy," Neil said soothingly, hoping to calm the horse, when Charlie 
reared back again, neighing loudly.  This time Neil lost his hold on the 
horse, and was thrown over Charlie's backside.  He landed on the ground with 
a hard thump, and his world went dark almost instantly.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Miz Christy, are you sure that the doc's comin' today?" Smith O'Teale asked 
as he helped his sister Becky pin up the banner at the front of the 
classroom.  The words "Happy Birthday, Doc" had been painted in bright red, 
blue, and yellow.  

"Yes, Smith, why do you ask?  It's still early."

"Well, 'cuz he always passes by our place on the days he comes to the school, 
and I didn't see hide nor hair of him this mornin'."

"He's just probably running a little late is all.  Now, while we're waiting 
for him, why don't we go over our spelling words for the week?"

A few audible groans were heard from the seated pupils, and Creed Allen said, 
"Gosh, Miz Christy, it don't seem fair to get us in a celebratin' kind of 
mood and then make us study instead."

"Creed, I am sure Dr. MacNeill will be here any minute, and then we will have 
our chance to celebrate.  In the meantime, I think it would make good sense 
to use our time wisely and practice..."

The door to the schoolhouse was thrown open with a bang, and a flustered 
Fairlight Spencer yelled, "Miss Christy!"

Christy walked quickly down the aisle separating the desks, her skirt 
swishing at her ankles.  "Fairlight?  What is it?"

"Doc MacNeill's horse.  I was walking over from the mission house and found 
him roamin' free out front."

"Charlie?  What would..."  Christy's voice trailed off as she realized the 
only reason Charlie would be wandering freely.  Paralyzed by her fear, 
Christy stood still, saying nothing.

Rob Allen jumped up from his seat and pulled John Spencer up with him.  
"We'll go lookin' for him, ma'am."

"Be careful, now, boys," Fairlight called after the two young men as they ran 
down the schoolhouse steps.  The other schoolchildren had since come out of 
their seats and were now gathered by the door.  "David and Miss Alice, I told 
them already," Fairlight informed Christy.  "David caught Charlie and is 
already gone to look for Neil.  Miss Alice is going to find more people to 
help search."

Christy nodded her head, realizing that with the children pressing in close 
to the door, she needed to take control of the situation in her classroom.  
"Alright, children," she told them.  "Everyone return to their seats, please."

The children remained where they were, though, except for the few who ran to 
the windows hoping to catch a glimpse of any of the goings-on.  Burl Allen 
tugged on Christy's skirt and looked up at her questioningly, asking, 
"Teacher, what's wrong?  Has somethin' happened to Doc MacNeill?"

Christy crouched down to Burl's level, and answered quietly, "I don't know, 
Little Burl.  I hope not."
    
"Maybe we outta say a prayer for him, then."

Christy drew the boy close to her, saying, "I think that is the best thing we 
can do, Burl.  The very best thing."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Neil slowly opened his eyes, seeing only blue skies and the tops of trees 
waving back and forth in the breeze.  Where was he?  Why was he here, and why 
did his head hurt so badly?

Trying to sit up, he winced in pain and lowered himself back down to the 
ground.  Every part of him seemed to ache, especially the back of his head.  
He tried to remember what had caused this predicament, but it was a few 
moments before he could recall anything.  He had been on Charlie, riding 
toward the schoolhouse.  Then there had been the rattler...  The memory of 
flying off of the horse came back to him.  Charlie was nowhere to be seen 
now.  He hoped the snake had slithered off somewhere, and that Charlie had 
managed to escape its strikes.

"Doc MacNeill!"

Neil recognized the voice as Rob Allen's, and within seconds both Rob and 
John Spencer were stooped down over him.

"Doctor MacNeill, what happened?" Rob asked.

"Charlie...threw me..." Neil answered slowly.  "He got spooked...there was a 
mean rattler around here earlier."

"Was you bit?" John questioned him.

"No," Neil groaned, painfully pulling himself up to a sitting position.

"Boy, Doc, you musta been out cold."

"I was for certain," Neil replied, feeling the bump on the back of his head.  
"You boys think you can manage to help me walk the rest of the way to the 
mission?"

"Maybe we oughten move you, Doc," Rob said, a serious look in his eyes.  
"Case anything's broken or something."      

The pound of hoofbeats caused all three to look up just as David rounded the 
bend in the road.  What on earth was Grantland doing with his horse? Neil 
wondered to himself.

"Doc!" David called, dismounting.  "Are you alright?" 

"I will be, although I can't say in truth that I am right now.  Where'd you 
find Charlie?"

"He came up into the mission yard.  It wasn't that difficult to catch him.  I 
rode him instead of Prince to look for you since he was already saddled."

"Doc said it was a snake that scared Charlie plumb out of his wits and bucked 
him off," John explained.  

"That horse tried to kill me."  Neil managed to stand and slowly walked over 
to David, taking the reins from his hands.  "Charlie, what were you thinking? 
 Saving your own neck and breaking mine in the process?"  At the same time 
Neil was scolding the horse, he was also looking for any signs that Charlie 
had suffered a snakebite.  

"We should get you back to the mission.  There are several people out looking 
for you," David explained.  "Think you can manage to get back on Charlie?"

"Of course," Neil told him.  Trying not to let the pain he felt show, he 
clenched his teeth together as he lifted himself astride the horse.  At the 
same moment, he remembered many of his medical school professors' cautionary 
words:  doctors tend to make the worst patients.

"I'll run on back to the mission and tell 'em we found you, Doc," John 
offered, his feet kicking up dirt before his sentence was even finished.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Miz Christy!  It's Doc MacNeill!"  Ruby Mae's voice rang throughout the 
mission house when she saw Neil riding up on Charlie.

Again, Becky and Smith O'Teale were just finishing hanging the birthday 
banner, only this time placing it over the mantle in the sitting room.  
"How's that look, Teacher?" Becky asked.

"Oh, that's wonderful, Becky."

"I still don't understand why we had to move everything over here," Zacharias 
Holt complained.

"Because, Zach," Alice told him, patting his shoulder, "Doctor MacNeill is 
going to need a place to rest after this morning's accident.  He can do that 
better here than he can at the schoolhouse."

"Well, are we still gonna yell 'Surprise!' at him when he comes in then, Miss 
Alice?"  Sam Houston asked.

"I think seeing that so much of Cutter Gap is waiting for him at the mission 
house will be surprise enough, Sam Houston."  

"Well, just so long as we get to have some of that Scripture Cake still," 
Creed said, crossing his arms.  "It's been a-callin' my name all mornin'."

Everyone had situated themselves around the dining room and sitting room, 
leaving the couch empty so Neil could recline in it.  In another minute or 
so, David, Rob, and Neil walked up the front steps and inside the mission.

"Doc!"

"Are ye alright?"

"Doctor MacNeill!"

"You okay?"

"I didn't expect to see all of you here," Neil said, looking around at the 
faces of the children and then at the adults who had been involved in 
searching for him, including Robert McCrae.  

"You draw quite a crowd, Doctor, if I do say so myself," Alice told him, 
leading him to the couch.  "Come and sit down.  We heard you took quite a 
nasty spill this morning."

"I'm okay," Neil said, grimacing as he sat.

Alice smiled at him, although she knew he was in pain.  Christy stood in back 
of her, concern written across her face.

"Don't worry, Miss Huddleston.  I'm much too stubborn to be too seriously 
hurt.  What's all this?" he asked, pointing at the banner.

"Well," Christy began, and was interrupted by Creed.

"We was plannin' a surprise party for you, Doc.  But when you didn't show up 
to school, and we found out you was hurt, but not too bad, we moved everthing 
over here so's you could have a place to rest yourself and all."

"Well, that was very thoughtful of you, Creed.  Thank you."

Christy finished explaining.  "Everyone else came to help look for you."

As Neil surveyed those who had gathered, he recalled his thoughts from 
earlier that morning about regretting his return to Cutter Gap.  He felt 
ashamed.

Mountie O'Teale stepped forward, despite her usual shyness, and placed her 
hand on Neil's arm.  "I'm glad you're okay, Doctor," she told him.

Neil touched Mountie's hair, saying, "Thank you, Mountie."

"We're all glad you're okay," Creed joined in.  "If it wasn't for you, I 
wouldn't even be here today."

"A lot of us might not be," Rob Allen added.  "If you hadn't been here durin' 
that Scarlet Fever outbreak, I reckon a lot of us wouldn't be here now."

Burl poked his brother's arm.  "What about my operation, Rob?  And Pa's, too? 
 There might not be any of our family left hardly if it weren't for Doc 
MacNeill."

"And my eyes are better now, too," Becky O'Teale added.  "They don't hurt 
like they used to."

"Miss Alice, you're beholden to Doc MacNeill, too, from that time you got 
hurt helping with the telephone wires," Sam Houston reminded her.

"Yes, Sam Houston, I am beholden.  Each of us in this room can probably think 
of an instance when Doctor MacNeill helped us.  And for that Neil, we are 
truly grateful and are glad to call you our dear friend."

A lump began to form in Neil's throat.  "Thank you, everyone."

"Okay, Creed," Christy told Creed.  "Why don't you bring it out now?"

Creed scurried back into the dining room and came out seconds later, 
carefully balancing the Scripture Cake, a single candle lit in the center of 
it.  All of the childrens' eyes danced with anticipation.

"Someone ought to write a song for birthdays," John Spencer announced.  
"Seems like a natural time for some music."

"How about 'For He's a Jolly Good Fellow'?"

"Yes, that's perfect, Jeb.  Will you start us out?" Alice asked.  And so the 
whole house reverberated with the words
 

                            For he's a jolly good fellow
                            For he's a jolly good fellow
                            For he's a jolly good fellow
                            Which nobody can deny

Afterwards as everyone was eating cake, Christy sat down beside Neil on the 
couch.  "I didn't say it earlier, but I'm beholden to you, too, Doctor."

"Are you referring to the concussion you suffered during the fire at the 
schoolhouse?" Neil asked.

"Um, yes," she answered, her blue eyes sparkling.  "That too."

"Too?"  Neil raised his eyebrows in curiosity.  

"Yes," she said, taking his empty cake plate from him.  Neil caught her hand 
with his own as she did so.

"Thank you, Christy.  If either of us should feel beholden, it's me."

"I'm glad you're okay, and that you're here now."

"So am I." 

Christy lightly squeezed his hand and withdrew her own before someone in the 
room took note.  "Happy birthday, Neil."

"I can assure you, Miss Huddleston, that it is just that."


The End!